ribes not yet prostituted by contact with the frontier; that such a
man's goods would be safe and, if he minded his own business, that he
would be sent on his way again unharmed. But he also knew their lust for
horses and mules; he felt their slowly growing feeling of contempt for
men who would trade them wonderful things for worthless beaver, mink,
and otter skins; and a fortune in trade goods for the pelt of a single
silver fox, which neither was warmer nor more durable than the pelt of
other foxes. And he knew the panicky feeling of self-preservation which
might cause some greenhorn of the caravan to shoot true at the wrong
time. So, without worrying about any "deadly circles" or about any
period of time a score or more years away, he sweat right heartily. And
when at last he drew near to Ash Creek, the later history of which
mercifully was spared him, he sighed with relief but worked with the
energy befitting a man who believed that God helped those who helped
themselves; he hustled the caravan down the slope and across the stream
with a speed not to be lightly scorned when the disorganized arrangement
of the train is considered; and he halted the divisions in a circular
formation with great dispatch, making it the most compact and solid wall
of wagons seen so far on the journey.

CHAPTER XII

PAWNEES

At this Ash Creek camp before the wagoners had unhitched their teams
there was a cordon around the corral made up of every man who could be
spared, and the cannon crews stood silently around their freshly primed
guns. The air of tenseness and expectancy pleased Woodson, for it was an
assurance that there would be no laxity about this night's watch. With
the animals staked as close to the wagons as practicable, which caused
some encroachments and several fist fights between jealous wagoners, the
fires soon were cooking supper for squads of men from the sentry line;
and as soon as all had eaten and the camp was not distracted by too many
duties, the cordon thinned until it was composed of a double watch.
Before dusk the animals were driven inside, secured by side-line
hobbles, which are much more effective than hobbling the forelegs, and
all gaps were closed as tightly as possible.

The evening shadows darkened and ran into blackness; the night wind
crept among the branches of the thin line of trees on both banks of the
creek and made soft soughings in the tall, thick grass; overhead the sky
first darkened a